Pig Cop Tank
The Pig Cop Tank (also know as the Riot Tank) is an enemy in Duke Nukem 3D. It appears only in the Atomic Edition of the game, and only in the Atomic Edition episode The Birth. It is first encountered in the second level of The Birth, Duke-Burger. It is considered to be the most dangerous enemy after the enemy bosses and the Mini Battlelord. Description The Pig Cop Tank is the natural counterpart to the Recon Patrol Vehicle. While the RPV is fast and maneuverable, the Pig Cop Tank is slow and clumsy. It is a land-based vehicle, and has a lot more fire-power than the RPV to make up for its comparatively poor agility. It is heavily armored, so it can take a lot of damage. When it is destroyed, there is a 50% chance that its driver will escape unharmed. As the vehicle's name suggests, its driver is a Pig Cop. A notable feature of the Pig Cop Tank, aside from its devastating weaponry and armoring, is the button on its back. It is a self-destruct button, and allows a sure-fire and simple way of destroying it (provided one can quickly get close enough to press it). Appearance The Pig Cop Tank is a small armored vehicle designed for one occupant. Its main body is a frustum shape (a pyramid with the top cut off), with parallel sides, and is colored green. It is supported by two large caterpillar tracks, one per side. Mounted on either side of the main body are two laser gun turrets, known as the Side Guns. At the front of the body is a large viewing window through which the driver's face can be seen, and below it is the "LARD" slogan in yellow. On the back of the Pig Cop Tank is a small red and white circular switch of the same design as the level exit Nuke buttons. The driver is a Pig Cop. Combat analysis *'Best weapon choice:' Shotgun (6), RPG (3) *'Worst weapon choice:' Shrink Ray (Immune), Mighty Boot (~50), Any others The Pig Cop Tank is a fearsome opponent. It is strong enough to withstand most assaults, and comes equipped with two forms of weaponry. Being mechanical in nature, it cannot be shrunk by the Shrink Ray. However, it is slow-moving and fairly slow to rotate. But even so, its high offensive and defensive capabilities make it one of the most dangerous and feared enemies in the game (except Bosses, and rivalling Mini Battlelords), and certainly the most dangerous Pig Cop-related enemy. Its first and primary weapon are the Side Guns, which fire fast barrages of lasers. Its secondary weapon is the long-range Mortar Launcher, which fires a grenade that deals a large amount of damage. It nearly always uses its primary weapon, the Side Guns, and rarely uses its secondary weapon. The Pig Cop Tank can be destroyed without firing a single shot. On its back is a circular switch that looks like a level exit Nuke button. This is the vehicle's self-destruct button. It is activated by pressing it, just like using a level exit Nuke button. After hitting it, a countdown of a couple of seconds is initiated, accompanied by frantic beeping. The Tank will then explode, regardless of any damage it may have taken beforehand. This explosion deals some damage. It is difficult, however, to get to the back of the Tank to press the self-destruct and, particularly if the player encounters the Tank from a distance, it may just be easier to shoot at it until it explodes instead of trying to close the distance (with it constantly firing at you, most likely). Regardless, it is an odd design choice to put the self-destruct button on the outside of the vehicle. When a Pig Cop Tank is destroyed, its driver (a Pig Cop, of course) may be killed along with it, but not always. If it survives, it will be at full health and be a regular Pig Cop. Most weapons are either ineffective or impractical to use against the Pig Cop Tank. The best choice would be either the RPG (3 rockets) or the Shotgun (6 shots). Any other weapon would require a lot of ammo to defeat it. Data |} |valign=top| |} |valign=top| |- | |- | |} |} The Pig Cop Tank in other games * The Pig Cop Tank does not appear in any of the console ports except the Xbox Live Arcade version. Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown, Duke Nukem 64 and [[Duke Nukem 3D (Sega Saturn)|the Sega Saturn port]] do not include the episode The Birth. ** Duke Nukem 64 has rearranged several episodes, and includes some of the levels from The Birth. However, the Pig Cop Tank is still removed (although the other Atomic Edition-only enemy the Protector Drone is still included). Trivia * The Pig Cop Tank cannot be shrunk by the Shrink Ray. * In the art files of Duke Nukem 3D there appears an unused set of sprites of what appears to be an alternate version of the Pig Cop Tank. This alternate version has been unofficially dubbed the Scorpion Tank due to its resemblance to the animal. It is considered to be either a prototype of the Pig Cop Tank or an additional enemy that was abandoned during development. See also * Pig Cop